Thursday, December 10, 2015

Did-ya-know

Good morning all! I hope everyone is enjoying this very unseasonably warm weather we're having. How often, in Indiana, do you get to have your windows open two weeks before Christmas? I won't lie, it's making me a bit nervous about February's weather...LOLI was talking with some Mom-friends about getting the kids to discuss school. We all know how asking "How was your day?" works. The only answers I ever got from my kids to that question was "Fine" or "OK". Getting information from them was like pulling teeth.That's when we came up with "Did-ya-know". After school, my kids have to give me two "Did-ya-knows". This simply means they have to start the sentence with "Did you know..." and tell me something about their day that they think I might not know.Sometimes, my Short Dude will get cute and try something like "Did you know for lunch we had pizza and it's my favorite?" Yea, he knows that won't work yet he will try it. He's cute...LOLBut most of the time, I get to really know about what he's doing in class. He'll share what is happening in the novel they're reading. Or that in Math, he got an 80% on a quiz and it would have been a 100% but he forgot to simplify. Just last week, I got a Science did-ya-know that was a very detailed breakdown of how a popcorn kernel has a small drop of water in it and the process that happens when that kernel is popped. He also described the differences in reactions in cooking. That cooking involves a physical change and baking involves a chemical change in the foods.I learn far more about what my child is doing in school from him with the "Did-ya-know" system. There are even days where he can't wait for me to say "Lay some did-ya-knows on me"! It took us a week or so to get in the habit of doing this daily and a little while longer for the kids to really get into the spirit of doing it. But several years later, and it has become a great way to initiate a conversation with my son and really allows us to spend some time just talking about his day. I love how excited he gets when he is discussing something like a Science experiment they're doing.And some days, I get things like "Did you know that (insert friend's name here) farted during Math?"Oh, the joys of boys!Anyway, try it, ask your kids to give you a couple of "did-ya-knows" about their day...you never know what you may learn!